Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Mindful Irritation, Graceful Wipe-Outs, and Yogardosing in the Crisp Autumn Air

...had this nasty rash all summer...(don’t worry...I’m not providing details)...(or pictures)...actually, longer than that...and still have it...but the high heat and humidity made it unbearable...(except that, obviously, I did bear it)...(and, as such, like most unbearable things, it really wasn’t)...(just really unpleasant)...which made concentration difficult...and uninterrupted sleep nearly impossible...making concentration even more difficult...causing me to write a lot less and find far less enthusiasm for the mindfulness meditation thing....since, y'know, being mindful of irritation gets old fast...

...yeah, yeah, I know what you hardcore yogis out there are thinking...this is exactly the kind of challenge I should welcome....at this very moment, you’re skimming to the bottom of the post to leave a comment about your guru who not only sat meditating on a fire ant nest for fifty years, but had acolytes continually pouring warm honey over his head....I ain’t him...

...as it is, I’ve gained a new appreciation for Autumn, though...the chill coming through windows I refuse to close, though any sane person would...

...the Wissahickon Creek and Schuylkill river bike paths both flooded Friday, leaving a good bit of mud on the pavement in places...cold rain still pitter-pattering along again on Monday, but I just had to get out on the bike...hit a muddy patch and, feeling the bike falling inexorably to the right, pulled my leg out and managed to sit perched on the left edge of the seat, riding gently to a halt....a passing jogger, once having ascertaining I was alright, complimented me on my graceful wipe-out...

...was gonna try to go to yoga class every day in October...ended up making it all the way through October 1st before one thing after another came up on the 2nd...but plan on serious yogardosing* from here on out, including Philadelphia’s first yoga festival, Do Yoga Philly! this weekend, and, two weeks later, a weekend workshop at Kripalu with yoga legends Brooks Hall and Seane Corn (I’m sooooo unworthy...)...and then might be heading down to D.C. for the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity/March to Keep Fear Alive...which might be yogic in its own way...a meeting at the crossroads of idealism and sarcasm...what could be more appropriate?

* defined...in section 11,266 of the Sacred and Venerable 3,197th Commentary on Ancient and Revered Yoga Cynic Sutra 312:474...as: like overdosing, but good for you...

* also just put up a revised version of an older autumn post "Falling" at Elephant Journal

sorry for your wipeout...but God I love reading about the bike trail along the Schuylkill...I went to school at textile on henry ave...and my first yoga classes were in a row house in mt airy and you are making me homesick for pushed aside furniture, dusty worn wood floors, too much incense and patchuli oil (back in the day when no one talked about fragrance allergies-we just sneezed and had stuffy noses) and when my nose ring was considered novel for a Jewish girl with red hair, and I could bring my mom to yoga to prove to here I wasn't joining a cult (this was 1991...she was worried!)...ok...this has nothing to do with your post...but the nostalgia...was really good for me!...God I'm so selfish...what were you saying??? OHHHH will you give Brooks a hug for me in person!!! No really, a hug...tell her it is from me...I'm pretty sure she will be cool about it.

Have fun doing all that serious yoga...but don't be TOO serious, have fun...feel the joy, forget about the burn (or the itchy rash)...sink into the joy (and your thighs you WARRIOR!) and open to the love as you bend into a gorgeous camel (yes ask a camels mother, she will tell you he is gorgeous)...breathe, breathe, breathe and trust that you are not floating far away, but present, grounded, in your body, in philadelphia...and when you leave your ecstatic experience....have a soft pretzel with mustard (the kind with septa bus fumes for extra flavor) and think of me.

wow...I really need to get out more!

and I think the drugs for my wacky nervous system are taking a toll...perhaps it is now bedtime.

ahhh Dr. Jay, i hope you feel better now, i've sadly missing my yoga classes due to health... a molar problem, then stomach problem, then a cold, like a sad vicious circle, now & then i do a couple of sun salutations (in spite of the cloudy weather in San Diego) and breathing exercises... but it's never the same than practicing at the studio, for one thing, one of my cats thinks i am playing with her every time i do a downward facing dog and starts rubbing against my head, it's lovely but hard to concentrate when she's purring around my crossed legs too

I kinda know what you mean about the heat and humidity wreaking havoc...no rash here, but very itchy during that awful weather, though it's since subsided...hope the cooler temps have given you some relief, too.

Ah, the silty stuff that hides in the underpasses here...I try to compensate, but every now and then one comes outta nowhere and I do a scary fishtail. Yours sounds like a nice save, drjay, though I've found that those quick reactions sometimes pull muscles outta whack elsewhere. Glad you came through it, okay, though.

How cool that you're going to see Brooks Hall...I hope you all have a fabulous time, and please bring back pics!

I'm trying to convince W that we should take our bikes into DC...I'd really like to get some pics, and regardless, am hoping for a monstrous turnout.

I am sorry you've had to endure that constant burn/itch - I can't help but want to think symbolically. Is there an 'itch' in your life that seems out of reach, but needs 'scratching' and won't be satisfied until it gets your attention?! I do understand about these background draining distractors. For 5 + years now I have a constant performance loudly racketing away in my head, a chorus of cicadas accompanied by high pitched ringing crystal singing bowls in my ears. Its never stops. I work with them as best I can, but silence, or something close to it, is only a memory. My itch - I ask, what do I need to hear?! Sounds like you still have great presence though, as you fall with grace!! I look forward to your writers voice squelching the rash's itch. Enjoy your yoga submersion - and connecting with the humor and sanity of America :)great post Jay - be well...